The patella comprises a flat, triangular-shaped bone located at the anterior portion of the knee joint. Commonly regarded as a sesamoid bone, the patella serves to protect the front of the joint, and increases the leverage of the quadriceps extensor by making it act at a greater angle. The patella attaches to four muscles, namely: the rectus, crureus, vastus internus and the vastus externus.
A great variety of leg traumas necessitate limiting the mobility of the patella in order to effectuate the healing process. To accomplish this, many knee braces and the like are found in the prior art.
For instance, braces or casts that prevent movement of the leg vis-a-vis the knee have been used. So constrained, the patella will not move during the healing period. Often times, however, the extent of the injury does not warrant such a lengthy, uncomfortable and inconvenient incapacitation of movement.
To avoid the use of general leg constraints, many prior art devices utilize an elastic or resilient sleeve-like structure for disposition about the knee area, as well as portions of the leg located proximal thereto. Some of these sleeves includes pads attached thereto for disposition about the patella in an attempt to provide additional support.
While these devices are suitable in some instances, they have not been all together successful in adequately preventing lateral and medial movement of the patella. Even the use of pads or other support fixtures about the patella have not been wholly satisfactory because the pads are connected to the sleeve, and the sleeve may stretch with movement of the leg.
Therefore, while the sleeve-like structures will not substantially impair the user's ability to walk, run or jump, as do the whole leg brace or cast, the sleeve-like structures do not adequately prevent lateral and medial movement of the patella during these same activities.
Finally, such injuries may be resolved through radical surgery followed by a long convalescent period. Such an alternative has obvious drawbacks and will normally be resorted to only in an extreme case.
A need therefore exists for a patella support apparatus that will prevent lateral and medial movement of the patella while walking, running or jumping without substantially impairing the user's ability to walk, run or jump.